Crush: A YA Romance Collection

by Lavinia Leigh

  He nodded. “I do. This cute girl is coming out with me. You might know her.”

  Arielle couldn’t help the smile spreading across her face. She grabbed his jacket on both sides and pulled him close. “Good answer.” She smashed her lips against his, pulling back fast. “But…would you mind if this cute girl asked her best friend and her best friend’s boyfriend to join us?”

  Blake turned away, then faced her again. “I don’t know, Ari. I don’t like the guy one bit.”

  “Why? He isn’t like he used to be.”

  “No, he’s worse. Didn’t you notice how he and Jess left and went to do their own thing last time?”

  Arielle pressed her lips together, thinking, then nodded.

  “He doesn’t like me any more than I like him. You already knew that, though, I’m sure.”

  “I don’t get why though.”

  “Because the dude is into drugs.”

  “No way.” Arielle folded her arms over her stomach. “There’s no way! Jess wouldn’t be with someone hooked on drugs.”

  Blake tilted his head, resting his hands on her shoulders. “I’m sorry to tell you, but she is.” He paused, meeting her eyes. He grunted a few times, biting down on his lip. “Okay. If you really want to go, if it means that much to you, I’ll go. But if he brings anything drug related, we are leaving.”

  Arielle smiled. “I promise. It’s a deal.”

  “Now, can we go inside and get warm? Because it’s way too cold out here.”

  Arielle laughed as she walked in front of him back inside the house. “You know what’s kind of funny? How you never show up until it’s dinnertime.”

  He tickled her sides, causing her to shriek. “What can I say…I’m a growing boy.”

  Arielle half turned, leaning back into him and stopping him in his tracks. “I don’t think I would call you a boy.”

  He leaned his head down to kiss her, but Arielle faced forward when she heard, “Eww. Get a room.”

  “Reed, quit being such a dweeb. Maybe if you weren’t jealous, you could keep your mouth shut.”

  Reed laughed, way too loud to not be sarcastic. “Okay. Yeah. I’m jealous…of you.” He went through the doorway and thumped up the stairs, his laughter following him.

  Blake had a smirk on his face, so Arielle smacked him. “You’re laughing at him? He’s so not funny!”

  “Come on, Ari. He’s your brother…so you don’t see it, but he’s pretty funny.”

  “Dinner,” Mom yelled from the kitchen.

  “Hope she remembered to set a place for you,” Arielle said to Blake as she stepped toward the dining room. Of course Mom hadn’t forgotten. She had gotten into the routine of expecting him every night, and it gave her an excuse to cook even more food. It wasn’t enough to make enough for an army. With Mom, it was go big or go home.

  ***

  On Saturday, Arielle woke up at eight in the morning, way too early for her. She hurried outside and took care of the chickens, pet her outdoor dog, and fed the cat. It was Reed’s job to feed the dog, so she was sure he would take care of that at four in the afternoon, the time Stubs ate every day.

  Gosh, even her head rambled today. Nervous energy flowed through her as she thought about going out with Jess and Damien that night. What Blake said might have truth to it, and she didn’t know what she would do if it did. If Damien did drugs, Jess could be doing them too. Jess had been staying away a lot since she started seeing Damien, so much that Arielle hadn’t seen much of her at all, which didn’t make sense since before they’d been inseparable. Sure, they both had boyfriends, but that shouldn’t have kept them apart all the time.

  Maybe she was overthinking everything. She needed to stop taking everyone else’s words as fact and learn how to judge things for herself.

  After she got all of her chores done, she went upstairs and picked a pair of faded blue jeans and a sparkly pink shirt to wear. Every way she turned, the light changed the color of the shirt so it was like a hologram, which she loved.

  She should have been born back in the hippy days since she loved bright, crazy colors. Tie-dying was her favorite thing to do, as well as the one artistic thing she could do without destroying it. At least so far.

  In art class, she passed, but with Cs. She had to do even better in her other classes to keep her GPA up so she made the honor roll every grading period all because of art.

  She sat down at the small desk in the corner of her room and pulled out her standing mirror. She applied a generous amount of pink eyeshadow and some glitter eyeliner, which made her eyes stand out.

  She’d never been a lipstick person and she didn’t need blush because she had a natural pink hue to her cheeks, so she skipped both of those and worked on her hair. The long, dark blond mop needed a lot of attention. Most days she brushed it once and left it alone, often pulling it up into a ponytail halfway through the day.

  For her date, she put ringlet curls throughout. When she finished, she looked amazing and so different. She hoped Blake would appreciate the time it took her to get ready.

  The clock read eleven. She had a big test in English on Monday, so she pulled her books out and stretched out on her floor.

  Her test was on vocabulary, so she opened a notebook and wrote each word and their meanings five times because she had a hard time if she only recited them over and over in her head. This way, she had to read them as she wrote so it stuck better.

  After she’d studied her vocab, she did her math worksheet, then went downstairs to veg out in front of the TV, but she couldn’t find anything good to watch so she sat there, alone, with the TV turned off.

  Her parents were out for the day, running their errands, which included grocery shopping and bill paying, things Arielle didn’t have to worry about for a few more years, although her parents had taught her all about it.

  By the time Blake came, it was two o’clock and she was about to go stir crazy. “Thank gosh you’re here. Let’s get out of here.”

  Blake laughed. “What’s the matter?”

  Arielle stood up, walking toward the front door. She grabbed her jacket, which she’d laid on the back of the couch, and pushed her arms through it, then strapped her purse over her shoulder. “Nothing, bored as can be. Reed spent the night with his football buddies last night and Mom and Dad went out for the day. I never realized how quiet this house could be without anyone in it.”

  Blake wrapped his arm around her, steering her out the door. “Well, it’s a good thing we have plans tonight, then.” He paused and turned her to face him before they walked out. “Ari, remember what I said…any funny business and we are out of there, okay?”

  Arielle didn’t have any problem agreeing, so she nodded. Blake had suspicions, but that was all they were. He didn’t know anything for sure and Arielle didn’t for one minute believe Damien, or Jess for that matter, could be into drugs. But if they found out he was using, she didn’t want to be around it anyway. “Sounds good. Now can we get out of here?”

  He chuckled, pushing her out the door. “Sure. Go faster. Hurry!”

  She rolled her eyes. “Okay. I know I’m rushing you, but I haven’t had a soul to talk to all day, except my chickens.”

  “You talk to your chickens?”

  Arielle stopped on the porch, digging her keys out of her purse, then locked the door. “I do. They’re my buddies.” She spun around with her hands on her hips. “You got a problem with that?”

  He shook his head. “Not a single one. I think it’s cool. Chickens are pets too. People talk to their dogs and cats all the time.”

  Arielle dropped her hands at her sides and walked down the three steps onto the paved patio, then moved down the sidewalk. She still had her keys in her hand, so she tossed them in her purse. “Don’t forget the people that talk to their fish.”

  “Right. And fish. Can’t forget them.”

  Arielle heard birds chirping above her, and sure enough there were two in the large oak tree right next to the hous
e. It was winter, so she hadn’t expected to see many birds and she had no idea what kind they were, but she hightailed it out from under them. She didn’t want to get pooped on. It had happened once before when she was a little girl. A blue jay had pooped above her and it got in her hair. She would never forget how hard it had been to get the watery, white crap out.

  She sat down in Blake’s car, buckling her seatbelt. “I hope the movie is good.”

  Blake gave her a sexy smile, hooding his eyes. “Oh, babe, I don’t think we’ll be watching most of it. I’ve got other plans for you.” He pulled out of her driveway and onto the road.

  She lowered the tone of her voice, turning it as seductive as she could. “Promise?”

  He stared at her for a few seconds, too long for his eyes to not be on the road. Then he whistled. “All right, Ari. What the heck are you doing? Do you want me to wreck? I thought you said Ari pancakes weren’t on the menu.”

  Arielle burst out laughing. She’d almost forgotten when she’d told him about Ari pancakes. After a minute, she composed herself and leaned forward, turning the music up, and did her best to pretend to ignore his comments. She sang loud and proud, knowing he wouldn’t judge her for it. Heck, she could fart right now and he probably wouldn’t care…well, maybe not.

  ***

  When Blake parked the car at the movie theater, he said, “Stay right there.” Then he came around and opened her car door for her.

  “Well, thanks. Such a gentleman.” Arielle stepped out and Blake closed the door.

  She started walking and Blake tucked her arm into his. She smiled up at him and he kept staring straight ahead. Arielle followed his gaze to find Jess and Damien standing close together, right in front of the movie theater.

  “Hey, you guys,” Arielle said, slipping her arm out of Blake’s and running up to Jess. She wrapped her arms around her best friend. “How long have you been here?”

  Jess shrugged her off. “Not too long.” Her eyes flicked to each movie poster hanging outside the theatre, anywhere but at Arielle. When she sniffed and rubbed her nose, Arielle began wrapping a strand of her long hair around her finger.

  Blake wrapped an arm around her waist. “Shall we go in?”

  “This movie theater doesn’t have anything new,” Damien said, shuffling his feet as he walked toward the double-door entrance.

  “This theater isn’t for new movies. They get films after they’ve been shipped off from bigger theaters,” Blake stated.

  “So we have to see the first Hunger Games because you’re too cheap to go to a bigger theater?” Damien asked.

  Jess moved behind him, whispering something in his ear, but Arielle couldn’t make it out.

  There was something off with Damien and Jess. Arielle’s best friend wasn’t the same, but she put the thought in the back of her mind. She didn’t want to believe it. Not yet. Even though all the signs were smacking her in the face.

  The Hunger Games was already playing when they walked into the dark theater. They were about twenty minutes late, so they slid into the back row. Damien and Jess went first, followed by Blake, with Arielle bringing up the rear.

  There were about five other couples in the room with them and they were all spread out. The seats were harder than regular theaters, maybe because they were so old and the cushions had been worn down from years of overuse. Arielle leaned close to Blake, sliding her arm through his again.

  He gave her a heart throbbing smile. “You’ve seen this one, right?”

  She nodded. “Who hasn’t?”

  He grinned even bigger as he touched his lips to hers. When the kiss deepened, Arielle could feel every beat of her heart. Her hands trembled as she wrapped her arms around Blake’s neck.

  After several minutes in what she considered Heaven on Earth, she pulled back with a smile which started slow and built into a sappy grin. She didn’t think she could stand any time soon because her knees were so weak. She held in a breath, then released it. “Mmm. I like kissing you. It’s nice.”

  “It could be nicer.” Blake leaned forward again and Arielle put her hands on his chest, stopping him.

  “I don’t think it could be any nicer. Plus, I think we need to take a few breaths.”

  Blake chuckled, wrapping his arm over her shoulders. “Anything for you, Ari. Anything at all.”

  She leaned her head on his shoulder and enjoyed the rest of the movie, aware of every time he moved. Hypersensitive nerves had taken over every inch of her body ever since the make out session. Part of her wanted more. She knew what came after kissing. But no way did she think she’d be ready for it. At least not in a movie theater. Okay, maybe not at all, she thought.

  Her youth would only last so long. She wanted to cherish it while she still could. And she was too young to be that serious about any boy.

  No, she wanted to take things a lot slower, and hoped Blake would be on board.

  Chapter 16

  Hard Reality

  Arielle stewed as Blake pulled into her driveway, shifting back and forth in her seat. As soon as the movie had ended, Jess and Damien had taken off. They wanted to go get a bite to eat, which was fine, but they hadn’t even invited her and Blake to join them. It was supposed to be a double date, but it hadn’t been. Jess had hardly said two words to Arielle, or Blake, the whole time they’d been in the theater. Something was up with her, for sure. Maybe Blake had been right.

  “I think you might be right about Jess,” Arielle said, keeping her voice low. She felt like she was breaking the friendship code by talking to Blake about Jess, but she couldn’t keep quiet anymore. She needed to talk this out.

  Blake parked the car and turned, rubbing her back. “I didn’t want to be right.”

  Arielle blew out a breath. “How could either of them do something like this? Don’t they care about themselves at all?” Arielle paused and took a big gulp of air. “I don’t know what to do. I can’t call her out on something when I have no proof she’s doing it.”

  Blake pulled her into his chest. “I’m sorry. I know this stinks, but maybe you should just come out and ask her? Be blunt with her. If you catch her off guard, maybe she’ll slip up?”

  Arielle scrunched her face up. “I doubt it. She’s smart, way smarter than you or me.”

  Blake laughed. “She might be, but if she’s doing drugs, it might be easy to trap her. I read a lot about it when my friend back home got hooked on something. If she’s on drugs, she’ll be angrier than usual, and if you call her out, she will deny it with everything in her, but she’ll yell at you and get accusatory too. Look for the signs.”

  “I just hate this.”

  Blake rubbed the back of her neck. “Me too. I wish I could help.”

  Arielle didn’t move for a while. The comfort he provided helped ease some of her pain. When she sat up, her side hurt from the center console digging into her, but she didn’t care. She gazed at Blake. “Walk me in?”

  “How could I say no?” Blake folded his fingers through hers and walked her to the door. He leaned down and kissed her with soft lips. When he pulled back, he tilted his head to the side. “I want you to know, I don’t want to pressure you into anything you aren’t ready for.”

  Arielle scrunched her forehead. “What are you talking about?” The words were rushed, panicked. She knew what he was talking about, but in no way did she want to have a conversation about it. She’d already decided she wanted to be young while she could. Even though it made her smile that Blake didn’t want to rush her, honestly, she didn’t want to talk about the subject at all. Not even a little bit.

  Blake placed his palms on her shoulders and stood right in front of her. “I think you know what I’m talking about. And I think it worries you to have a conversation about it. But we are going to be adults soon and we need to be able to talk about this stuff.” He paused, his cheeks reddening. “I know it’s a little awkward, but I know kissing you makes me happy, which is enough for me. For now. But we’ll have to talk about the o
ther stuff someday soon, I’m sure.”

  Arielle looked at her feet, at the wooden boards of her porch, at the big bay window where she could see her dad staring outside from the living room, anywhere but at Blake. But he was right. If they were going to be in a relationship, they had to talk about the hard stuff and the embarrassing stuff. “Thank you. And I will be ready, one day. I promise. I’m just not ready yet.”

  He nodded. “Me either.” Arielle blew out a sigh she didn’t realize she’d been holding inside and Blake laughed. “Okay, champ. Get in there so your dad stops staring at us. I’ll see you soon.” He gave her a quick peck on the cheek.

  She went inside walking on clouds.

  ***

  Over the next few weeks, Arielle spent almost all her spare time either studying or hanging out with Blake. He came over all the time, and her dad even took him outside and taught him how to shoot his old-fashioned shotgun with Reed.

  Dad had taken Blake under his wing, in a matter of speaking. Arielle had confided in her dad about Blake’s home life and Dad had a way with fixing things if he could.

  Arielle loved how much he liked Blake, and it left a lot of time for her to join her mom in the kitchen and learn some of those delicious homemade recipes Mom was so good at cooking.

  Blake didn’t try to have “the conversation” with her again, but Arielle had a feeling it would come up sooner rather than later.

  The third nine weeks of school ended and Arielle made honor roll again, but she wasn’t as happy as she should have been. There were only nine more weeks of school left before Blake went home to his family in South Carolina and she would be left alone.

  As far as she knew, his mom had never talked with her parents when they’d been here for the holiday, and the chances of her dad and mom letting her go all the way to South Carolina without them were slim to none anyway.

  How would their relationship stay strong when he was a million miles away? Well, maybe not a million…but close enough. They may as well have been a world apart when she didn’t even have her driver’s license, let alone the advantage of being old enough to travel alone.